Orton, Buckhalter out; Marshall returns

Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton missed his second conseuctive practice Thursday because of his severely sprained left ankle.

Orton suffered the injury in the final seconds of the first half last Sunday against the Washington Redskins and did not return for the second half. He does hope to play Sunday in the potentially pivotal AFC West game against the San Diego Chargers as does his coach, Josh McDaniels.

“”Certainly not going to make any determination based on where he’s at now,” McDaniels said. “”But we’d love for him to be out there as soon as he can possibly be out there and we’re hopeful he’s going to play.”

The Broncos and Chargers are tied for the AFC West lead with 6-3 records. The Broncos currently have the tiebreaker hook, having defeated the Chargers in San Diego on Oct. 19. That game marked the Broncos’ last win and the Chargers’ last defeat.

Chris Simms replaced Orton in the second half against Washington and completed just 3 of 13 passes for 13 yards with an interception.

Meanwhile, receiver Brandon Marshall (neck and back) and safety Josh Barrett (hamstring) returned to practice after sitting out Wednesday. However, running back Correll Buckhalter (knee) did not practice Thursday after participating on a limited basis Wednesday.

MARK YOUR CALENDARSWHAT: Touchdown passing schoolWHERE: Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium, Denver, COWHEN: Sunday, November 22, 2009, 1:15PM PSTMark your calendars, folks. All Pro quarterback Phillip Rivers, All Pro tight end Antonio Gates, and All American wide receiver Vincent Jackson will be hosting a special session of TOUCHDOWN SCHOOL. Bring your rookie, or bring your washed-up, short-range veteran. Either way, school is in session. Learn how to score touchdowns and take away a division lead by a team of true offense proffessionals.

MARK YOUR CALENDARSWHAT: Touchdown passing schoolWHERE: Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium, Denver, COWHEN: Sunday, November 22, 2009, 1:15PM PSTMark your calendars, folks. All Pro quarterback Phillip Rivers, All Pro tight end Antonio Gates, and All American wide receiver Vincent Jackson will be hosting a special session of TOUCHDOWN SCHOOL. Bring your rookie, or bring your washed-up, short-range veteran. Either way, school is in session. Learn how to score touchdowns and take away a division lead by a team of true offense proffessionals.

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.